Post-Judgment Remedies

Once you have received a judgment from the Court, you must begin utilizing post-judgment remedies in an effort to satisfy the judgment. In a perfect world, the court would award a judgment and you would get paid, but unfortunately it does not work that way very often. As some of you may know, the tough part of collections is collecting the judgment. 

There are several remedies available to you to collect a judgment:

• Garnishment Action: A garnishment is a good method to use when you are sure that the Debtor has money in a certain location. For example, if the Debtor has $10,000.00 sitting in an account at Bank of America, and you have a judgment in the amount of $10,000.00, you can serve the bank with process and have the Court order the bank to turn the money over to you in satisfaction of your judgment.
  
  In addition, if the you are sure that the Debtor has outstanding receivables, you can garish those receivables. For example, if Debtor A is an entity that has delivered goods to Purchaser X and Y and is waiting to be paid on such goods, and you have a judgment against Debtor A, then you can serve Purchaser X and Y with an order of the Court and have them deliver the money that was owed to Debtor A, to you in satisfaction of your judgment.
  
  The downside to garnishment if the possibility that you may be liable for the Debtor's attorneys fees. In the event that you serve a garnishment action and no money is due the Debtor, you are liable for the attorneys fees incurred by that entity. Therefore, it is very important to be SURE that the money is there prior to utilizing this method.

•  Writ of Execution: This is a valuable tool to use when you are aware of specific property that can be levied upon. Lets assume that Debtor A has a rental property in Dallas, Texas. If you are certain that Debtor A has this property and that it is not his homestead, you can ask for a Writ of Execution upon that property. This means that the Sheriff will levy upon the property and hold a sale/auction of the property to satisfy your judgment. 
  
  It is important to know that Texas provides for certain homestead exemptions. This means that certain property cannot be levied upon or attached. Just because someone owns a big house, nice car or fancy jewelry does not mean that you can attach that property. Generally, homes, 1 car and personal property are excluded from attachment. This method is proper in a situation where the Debtor has two homes (only one can qualify for homestead exemption) and three cars. 

• Turnover Order: This is the method used most often. This is an Order from the court instructing the Debtor to turn over certain things to you. For example, this order can request that they turn over vehicles that cannot be located under a Writ of execution, receivables owed the Debtor, interest in various entities that the Debtor may have, specific documents which would show Debtor's interest in businesses, stock certificates, and things that are not real property and subject to execution. This is a great method of gaining information about the Debtor also. 
  
  The order instructs the Debtor to turn over to the Sheriff all items by a certain date. Failure to deliver such items in a timely manner may result in contempt charges from the court.

• Charging Order: This is an instrument that is served on a partnership entity. This instructs the partner to turn over the interest of Debtor A to you.